"A Shamanic Perspective of Life's Purpose"

Jade Wah'oo Grigori

by Jade Wah'oo Grigori

The Shamanic perspective of life's purpose is radically different than the psychotherapeutic or metaphysical way of looking at things.

Try this on...
I would bet that you look at life as being a school, a place in which you are here to learn? Correct? Let's say you were going to a University in order to learn something, a particular skill set. You ace the tests, get your diploma, yada yada. The U offers the exact same class next year. So do you repeat the class? No, of course not! You got what you went there to learn, so you are outta there! Next example: Maybe you have, or know someone who has gone into a relationship in order to learn...to learn how to share, to be giving, accepting...whatever. What invariably happens to that relationship once you have 'gotten' what you went in to it to learn? Yep...it is over. You got what you went to learn, so it no longer serves a purpose.

Ok, now the biggie...stay with my logic of examples... Do you hold that you are here in this life to learn? If so, What? "I am here in this life to learn ______." Fill in the blank, it matters not with what...compassion, acceptance, finding your true self...whatever. Now...what will happen once you learn that? (Stick with the flow of examples/logic progression I provided!) That's right, you are outta here. And what does 'outta here' in regards of life equate with? Yep...death.

Here's the rub...we each have an instinct for self-preservation. Its sole purpose is to keep us alive. Instincts are pre-conscious, and as such are incapable of rational discourse. You cannot argue or convince an instinct that you will not die just because you have moved into completion of your belief of what your purpose in life is. All that the instinct knows is that when you are nearing the achievement of what you are here in this life to learn, death will soon follow. The instinct for self-preservation then will do anything and everything in its power to keep you from 'getting it'. It will derail, destroy and sabotage all further attempts to succeed. The end result is that whatever the ideal is that you have been thinking you have to learn in order to succeed...fails.

The effective way of contending with this is rather simple, really, but it requires of you an absolute, across the board paradigm shift. It is this: We are not here in this life to learn. We are here for the EXPERIENCE of life.

When, in the example, say, of the relationship, we are present in it not to learn, but for the experience of relationship, when, of necessity must that relationship end? Right...never! And during the course of that relationship we will, of course, learn much. But we are not setting ourselves up to learn, we are there for the experience of relationship. Even if that relationship should end, that becomes a part of the experience of relationship...not an end in and of itself.

Now, apply this to Life. If we are NOT here to learn, but rather are here for the experience of Life...when does that end? Again, never. Even death becomes, not a consequence, but a part of the experience of life itself! And, therefore, that instinct for self-preservation does not kick in, as the experience of life does not lead to completion and death.

Get it? Ok then... Now, the task is to apply this to EVERY situation in life. Rather than asking, in a situation where you have suffered or been betrayed or whatever: "What do I have to learn...or what is the lesson for me here" (the answer, BTW, is going to be "Nothing!"), ask instead, "What can I learn from this experience of life?" Doing thusly moves the onus from one of doing one's damnedest to pass the test that some external authority (God, Karma, etc) has placed before you, to one of owning your own creative intelligence and power in the situation you are experiencing. There is no set up. There is no test. Life is not a school of learning. This is the real thing. Live it, experience it in all its weirdness and awe. Live and experience life with gusto and passion and an acceptance that you will never figure it all out, nor do you have to.

In summation: Release the belief that we are here in this life to 'learn'...that somehow life is a school, or that some deity is testing you, and if you please the deity with your deeds and supplications that deity will reward you with an easier life. Or that you are suffering from karma,...and if you just are good enough you won't have to suffer karmically (next lifetime!). Embrace life as experience. Oh, you will learn along the way. Probably you will learn lots. The reward comes from the results of your authentic and passionate engagement of Life...not from outside yourself!

Jade Wah'oo Grigori is an American Shaman who mentored me in shamanic drumming and helped me to find my own path of rhythm. Please visit his website to learn more.

Quantum Theory of Soul's Existence

In his book, "Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness Are the Keys to Understanding the Nature of the Universe," Dr. Robert Lanza explains his new theory of biocentrism. Biocentrism teaches that life and consciousness are fundamental to the universe.  It is consciousness that creates the material universe, not the other way around.

The theory implies that death of consciousness simply does not exist. If the body generates consciousness, then consciousness dies when the body dies. But if the body receives consciousness in the same way that a radio tuner receives radio waves, then of course consciousness does not end at the death of the physical vehicle. In fact, consciousness exists outside of constraints of time and space. It is able to be anywhere: in the human body and outside of it. In other words, it is non-local in the same sense that quantum objects are non-local.

In support of Dr. Lanza's theory, two world-renowned quantum scientists claim they can prove the existence of the soul. American Dr. Stuart Hameroff and British physicist Sir Roger Penrose developed a quantum theory of consciousness asserting that our souls are contained inside structures called microtubules which live within our brain cells. Their idea stems from the notion of the brain as a biological computer, "with 100 billion neurons and their axonal firings and synaptic connections acting as information networks".

Dr. Hameroff and Sir Roger have been working on the theory since 1996. They argue that our experience of consciousness is the result of quantum gravity effects inside these microtubules -- a process they call orchestrated objective reduction (Orch-OR). In a near-death experience the microtubules lose their quantum state but the information within them is not destroyed. Or in layman's terms, the soul does not die but returns to the universe.

Dr. Hameroff explained the theory at length in the documentary "Through the Wormhole," which was recently aired in the US by the Science Channel. "Let's say the heart stops beating, the blood stops flowing, the microtubules lose their quantum state," Dr. Hameroff said. "The quantum information within the microtubules is not destroyed, it can't be destroyed, it just distributes and dissipates to the universe at large. If the patient is resuscitated, revived, this quantum information can go back into the microtubules and the patient says 'I had a near death experience'. In the event of the patient's death, it was possible that this quantum information can exist outside the body indefinitely -- as a soul."

This quantum theory of consciousness explains things like near-death experiences, astral projection, out of body experiences, and even reincarnation without needing to appeal to religious ideology. The energy of your consciousness potentially gets recycled back into a different body at some point, and in the mean time it exists outside of the physical body on some other level of reality, and possibly in another universe.

Global Dismemberment

So very many are asking the same question these days: "What is happening around us?" We see severe climate change, massive oil spills, and species dying off. We see corruption in banking, politics, and religions around the world. We see fear, anger, and hopelessness in our communities. Many shamanic practitioners theorize that this is a shamanic dismemberment -- the experience of being taken apart, devoured, or torn to pieces on a global scale, allowing for a shift of awareness and transformation of collective consciousness.

In a shamanic dismemberment, the individual dies the little death, which is the surrender of the ego. At its deepest level, the dismemberment experience dismantles our old identity. It is a powerful death-and-rebirth process. The experience of being stripped layer by layer, down to bare bones forces us to examine the bare essence of what we truly are.

In his book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, Daniel Pinchbeck developed the hypothesis that we are undergoing a transition to a new realization of consciousness, which will be embodied by a new fundamental paradigm that takes into account what Carl Jung called "the reality of the psyche," which is to recognize that its contents have a living reality, along with new social, political, and economic systems that mesh with this realization. Pinchbeck sees the rapid evolution of technology as an expression of this unfolding of consciousness. The acceleration of planetary crises can either incite a planetary awakening and a shift into a regenerative planetary culture based on sustainable principles, or a destruction of human civilization in its current form, and perhaps extinction for our species.

The emerging viewpoint coming from the shamanic community suggests the times we live in have an underworld theme of planetary and cosmological initiation. Entrance into the Lower World is most often precipitated by physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual events that force the surrender of our ego. Who we believe ourselves to be is not who we really are. No matter how many years one has been expanding and developing their consciousness, no one is exempt from this shamanic death-and-rebirth. This is a shamanic initiation on the grandest cosmological scale.

The caveat is to not swing into polar extremes of grandiosity or deficiency. Many may view this as either an opportunity for transformation or detached withdrawal. Others may react from fear and view this as impending doom and gloom. Rather, view the melodramatic experience as a test of spiritual maturity. This provides the opportunity for letting go and surrendering our ego defensiveness. We are being given the opportunity to surrender to the great tide of change, so that new dreams and visions can emerge. We can participate in the world's rebirth by following our own deepest instincts, each contributing our sacred part by following that which holds for us the greatest sense of truth and meaning.

The positive side of global dismemberment is that it eventually leads to a rebirth; to new ways of being. The darkness which had seemed endless and impenetrable is at long last revealed to be simply a very difficult passage -- the proverbial tunnel, at the end of which is a brilliant, welcoming light. To learn more, look inside my guide to becoming a shamanic healer, Shamanic Drumming: Calling the Spirits.

Shamanism and Grief

Sandra Ingerman, author of Awakening to the Spirit World, offers insight into moving through stages of grief in a recent article, "How to Deal With Grief." Her approach to coping with grief could be applied not just to the loss of loved one, but to distress following any life transition. As Ingerman puts it, “Every change in life is some form of death which leads to an ending that can create a state of grief for us as something familiar dies. We might change jobs, move, get divorced, experience a change in how we feel as we age, a life threatening illness or the death of a loved one. Death is not an end, rather it is a new beginning. And the experience of grief is important for our growth and evolution." Read more.